Friday, October 26, 2018

There's Magic in the Backyard

This
year, 70 runners from 7 different countries congregated in the woods of Tennessee
in a little town called Short Creek to be part of something special.

You
see, this isn’t just any ole place in Tennessee. This is Big’s.

This is Big’s
farm. This is Big’s trail. This is Big’s backyard.

The Race Director, Big!

Big
is a special dog. He once rescued a man named Lazarus Lake. If you don’t know
Big’s story, I suggest you read 'The Big Dog Diaries'.

Big
represents everything good about ultra running and the culture
of the sport. Actually, Big represents everything that IS good.

Every
year, on a weekend in October, Big invites his friends, new and old, to come
and play on his trail for as long as they can. This year, and for the 2nd
year in a row, I was one of the lucky ones to be part of Big’s backyard party.

Looking down on "Tent-City" from the Big Trail

If you are looking for a race report about the details
of racing, lap splits, gear, nutrition, etc., you won’t find it here. There are and will be plenty of great race reports out there that will cover those
topics in abundance. The Big Dog Backyard Ultra is about soooooo much more than that.

The Start - Saturday, 6:40am

Big’s
is about FRIENDS.

(Friday
night camping in the backyard is buzzing with energy)

Relaxing the night before the race with Jerry Palmer & Anatoly Ross.

Big’s
is about TEAMWORK.

(from
crews to fellow runners, there is no shortage of helping hands)

Left to right: Jamieson Hatt, Terri Biloski, Daryl Flacks, Me, Laz

Big’s
is about COMMUNITY.

(the
Cantrell’s are gracious hosts and they treat all runners like family)

The Cantrells - Photo credit: Susan Brothers Yancy

Big’s
is about harsh RULES.

(like
the rules in Laz’s pre-race speech…you don’t want him to clothesline ya!)

(it’s
not too often you get to “hang with the tall timbers”…thanks Laz)

Big Doggin' - Photo credit: John Price

But
most importantly,

Big’s
is about finding LIMITS.

Out
of all the loops I ran over the weekend, it is the one I failed on that I am
most proud of. My 27th loop is the one I remember most. About a mile
into the trail everything fell apart for me. The remaining morsels of vigor seeped
from my body, my leg muscles & tendons seized tightly, and my will to push
forward dissipated from my weary mind.

I
propped up against a tree, then eventually sulked down to take a seat on the
rocky ledge. My race had come to an end and I knew it. Another 3+ miles lie
ahead of me to get back to the finish line and turn in my timing chip. It was
going to be a long, slow walk. For a fleeting moment I contemplated turning
around and just walking back towards the start line instead. But the thought of
the remaining runners on the trail battling to finish the loop quickly changed
my approach.

I
wanted to finish the loop. I needed to finish the loop. I knew those last 4.17
miles wouldn’t count, but at that time they were more important to me than the
108+ miles that came before them. They were mine. Alone on the big trail,
surrounded by beauty and silence. Trails, hills, trees, fields, sunrise…it
couldn’t get any better.

I
loved that loop, even though I didn’t. I was hurting, but I was thankful. I
didn’t want to take advantage of it. I savored every remaining step of that
loop. I was in a bad place and a good place at the same time. I reached
my limit (for now).

There’s
magic in the backyard…and on that day, on that weekend, on Big's trail, I had found it.